The Freedom Writers Method was created to meet the needs of Gruwell’s students who were disengaged from school and struggling in their academic subjects. The Method exposes at-risk students to published student nonfiction writing that deals with commonplace situations experienced by a myriad of young people in disadvantaged situations. Using these writings as a transformative tool, students become aware of the possibility of triumph over adversity by engaging in self-reflective journal writing. To fully implement this Method, teachers are also equipped with text resources and lesson plans designed to help them cultivate a cohesive classroom community grounded in trust and built on relationships.

The Method enhances the language arts curriculum in the areas of reading, writing and oral communication and has proved to be useful in addressing the needs of students who have serious educational challenges such as: truancy, low test scores, educational inequality, high dropout rates, low teacher retention rates, poor literacy skills, lack of student interest in education, and lack of resources for special needs students. The Freedom Writers Method acknowledges the socioeconomic obstacles that deter students from excelling academically. It is this acknowledgement that enables us to assist teachers in making connections between the difficult realities of the lives of students and what takes place in the classroom.

To date, 233 teachers from across the United States have been trained in the Freedom Writers Method.

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